New micropub to host its first beer festival

The Curfew Micropub, on Bridge Street in Berwick, will be holding its very first beer festival over the Easter weekend.

The festival will feature micro-brewed beers from all over the UK in cask, traditional ciders and a wide range of bottled craft beers from as far away as New Zealand.

Visitors will be able to sample local food from Spanish-Moroccan restaurant El Taperio, also on Bridge Street, and Foreman’s Pies from Norham.

Spittal-based nano-brewery Bear Claw Brewery will also be supplying the event, including a unique one-off special festival beer, served from a kilderkin.

Bear Claw beers will also be available in bottles and in pints.

Curfew owner, Gemma Cook, said: “We are really looking forward to holding our first ever beer festival and plan to make it an annual event.

“We will have lots of new and exciting craft beers and ciders from some of the best brewers in the UK as well as great local food.”

The venue has already established an excellent reputation since it opened last summer as the most northerly micropub in England and the first in Northumberland.

“My husband and I are delighted with how things have gone since opening in June last year and look forward to welcoming regulars and new faces to the festival,” said Gemma.

The micropub concept is attributed to Martyn Hillier and his pub The Butcher’s Arms in Herne, Kent.

Micropubs are about getting back to basics, eschewing all forms of electronic entertainment, alcopops and amplified music, with the emphasis on serving quality cask and bottled beers from microbrewers, and encouraging good conversation and conviviality.

Since The Butcher’s Arms opened back in 2005, 100 micropubs have sprung up all over the UK, celebrating the wealth of new high quality beers being produced in Britain.

The festival takes place from Friday, April 3 to Sunday, April 5. Opening hours over all three beer festival days are midday until 10pm.